Need how to advice.

Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
background white with no shadows?

Using a "soft box" will help with the reflections. If you are going
to take this type of photograph as a business, then a soft box like
this is available for under $100. If it's a one-shot thing, then
fabricate something out of cloth (an old sheet) with a hole cut in the
top so you can photograph straight down. You may need more light than
overhead flurrescents provide.

Eliminating shadows is done by balancing the light from all sides, but
it's tough to be shadow-free.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Advertisements

tony cooper <> wrote:
>On Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:34:24 -0700, nixiguf <> wrote:
>
>>Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
>>bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
>>How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
>>background white with no shadows?
>>
>>Here is the sample picture of it.
>>https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6CI9urNTw#5614375272798494594
>>
>>Thank you.
>
>Using a "soft box" will help with the reflections.

I think you meant "light box" or "light tent". A soft box is a box
that provides a big diffuser for a flash.

On 05 Jun 2011 00:51:36 GMT, (Ray Fischer) wrote:
>tony cooper <> wrote:
>>On Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:34:24 -0700, nixiguf <> wrote:
>>
>>>Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
>>>bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
>>>How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
>>>background white with no shadows?
>>>
>>>Here is the sample picture of it.
>>>https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6CI9urNTw#5614375272798494594
>>>
>>>Thank you.
>>
>>Using a "soft box" will help with the reflections.
>
>I think you meant "light box" or "light tent". A soft box is a box
>that provides a big diffuser for a flash.
>
>Or maybe that is what you meant. Shrug.

On Jun 4, 3:34 pm, nixiguf <> wrote:
> Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
> bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought..
> How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
> background white with no shadows?
>
> Here is the sample picture of it.https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6C...
>
> Thank you.

Most watch pictures you see in those glossy (or is it semi-gloss?)
watch magazines are done with medium format digital or large format
film. They are then processed to Hell. No wonder the shooters of that
stuff earn what they do.

On Jun 4, 8:56 pm, tony cooper <> wrote:
> On 05 Jun 2011 00:51:36 GMT, (Ray Fischer) wrote:
> >tony cooper <> wrote:
> >>On Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:34:24 -0700, nixiguf <> wrote:
>
> >>>Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
> >>>bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
> >>>How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
> >>>background white with no shadows?
>
> >>>Here is the sample picture of it.
> >>>https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6C...
>
> >>>Thank you.
>
> >>Using a "soft box" will help with the reflections.
>
> >I think you meant "light box" or "light tent". A soft box is a box
> >that provides a big diffuser for a flash.
>
> >Or maybe that is what you meant. Shrug.
>
> I meant to include a link to an example, but my wife called me to
> dinner.http://bintangmas.com/Photo Light Tent Cube Soft Box (75x75x75cm)
>
> Note that this is called a "soft box" by the manufacturer.
>
> Whether you diffuse the light by enclosing the illumination source or
> enclosing the object, you are softening the light.

Possibly the term is in the process of morphing. But since the thing
you attach to your light source is a very different thing than the
thing you surround your subject with and light from the outside, I
strongly prefer that they have separate names, to avoid confusion.

The term "light tent" was what was mostly used for the subject
surrounding thing in the past, but lately they've started making them
with some structure, so the "tent" name apparently bothered people (I
don't see why, given the various exoskeletons actual tents frequently
have, but never mind).

On Jun 5, 9:51 pm, RichA <> wrote:
> On Jun 4, 3:34 pm, nixiguf <> wrote:
>
> > Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
> > bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
> > How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
> > background white with no shadows?
>
> > Here is the sample picture of it.https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6C...
>
> > Thank you.
>
> Most watch pictures you see in those glossy (or is it semi-gloss?)
> watch magazines are done with medium format digital or large format
> film.

So what? You may need that much resolution if you're actually going
to be published in a glossy magazine, but if you just need it for the
web, the extra resolution is irrelevant. It's just the lighting and
processing and such that matter.
> They are then processed to Hell. No wonder the shooters of that
> stuff earn what they do.

I often get rid of shadows in Ebay photos with post-processing.

Yeah, people doing high-end magazine adds of jewelry and stuff gotta
work for it.

In article <ise1be$j7$>, nixiguf <>
wrote:
> Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
> bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
> How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
> background white with no shadows?
>
> Here is the sample picture of it.
> https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6CI9urNTw#5
> 614375272798494594
>
> Thank you.

Turn off the harsh lights and use a tripod and long exposure.

That will work better than what you have, although what you have is not
so bad at all.

M-M wrote:
>
> > In article <ise1be$j7$>, nixiguf <>
> > wrote:
> >
> > Could someone please advise me how to take good pictures of metal watch
> > bands under fluorescent light? This is much more difficult than I thought.
> > How do I get rid of those shiny reflected lights and how do I make
> > background white with no shadows?
> >
> > Here is the sample picture of it.
> > https://picasaweb.google.com/nixiguf/WatchBands?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbyu6CI9urNTw#5
> > 614375272798494594
> >
> > Thank you.
>
> Turn off the harsh lights and use a tripod and long exposure.
>
> That will work better than what you have, although what you have is not
> so bad at all.

Share This Page

Welcome to Velocity Reviews!

Welcome to the Velocity Reviews, the place to come for the latest tech news and reviews.

Please join our friendly community by clicking the button below - it only takes a few seconds and is totally free. You'll be able to chat with other enthusiasts and get tech help from other members.
Sign up now!